'Recession hasn’t Bollywood...'

Consider this: to show the naked power, the blind vengeance of his character with the crazed look in a five-minute brawl with the baddie, Aamir Khan trained four hours a day, six days a week, for 13 months to look the irrepressible killing machine. Mike Tyson, who was notorious for knocking out challengers to his world heavyweight boxing title in under three minutes, had an easier time preparing for his defence fights.

I asked Aamir if it was worth it: the torture to develop muscles he never knew he had; the point of exhaustion the treadmill took him to; the sacrifice of following a strict diet; the knowledge that at the end of it all, when the action scenes were canned, he would have to give up that awesome body... because Raju Hirani, with whom he is now making 3 Idiots, did not want him looking like Rambo? Aamir laughed, “Yes, it was. The film required that my physique look that way — even with clothes on. But the body is not flaunted. In fact, the idea was to have just one sequence where it is shown. Then when the director saw my physique, he insisted on shooting the fight scene bare body.” How about Kiran, who had to live with that body in which was trapped her otherwise soft-and-gentle husband? “She often watched me training,” said Aamir, “and when I used to scream in pain, Kiran would tell my trainer, ‘Satya! What are you doing to him, bas ho gaya!’ But... yes, she was amazed by the transformation, she liked my look.”

He has chucked his diet, God bless, because we talked over lunch at the ITC Grand Central, Parel, where chefs of the Kebabs & Kurries restaurant produced a meal fit for Gods. Aamir, dressed nattily for the winter, ate hungrily. He hasn’t been doing that lately. Or sleeping, either. “I’m working round the clock,” he grumbled, “when the release comes, it gets hectic, I sleep two, three hours, there are meetings, the marketing promotions have to be planned, there’s mixing happening.” He didn’t think this was a bad time to release a film. “The recession hasn’t hit Bollywood,” Aamir argued. “Golmaal Returns did well, but 26/11... that’s taken the joy out of us, it’s been a traumatic experience for everyone... and we have to deal with it.” What about his friend Shah Rukh Khan’s Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi... had he seen it, was the film hit by recession? “I’ve been busy,” Aamir replied, “I’ve had no time to see it or keep track... I’m busy keeping track of my own film.”

And he’s nervous doing that. Aamir had no hesitation in admitting, “I make one film a year. I’m anxious how the audience will react because I give maximum value to what they feel. The buzz is good. I sense people have high expectations of me. It reaffirms the audience’s trust in me. The flip side is it’s difficult to satisfy high expectations when I do one film a year. I had Taare Zameen Par last Christmas.

And 3 Idiots will be ready next Christmas.” But he’s cool with that. “I cannot manage more or work at a faster pace,” he reasoned. “The audience decides whether a film is a success or flop. But for me, the process of filmmaking is as important. It’s like good food. Some people gobble it up. Others eat it as a necessity. I relish good food.”

That I could see. He lingered over lunch, carefully selecting the grilled meats, thick fighter fingers delicately dunking rotis in the curried dishes, and he sat back cross-legged in his chair with delight when the kulfi-falooda was served. I marvelled at his enthusiasm. Now that the pace and insane level (his words, not mine) of his workouts are over, he’s back to looking Dil Chahta Hai. I asked which of all his looks he liked the best? Aamir Khan paused over a paan, “The new film’s buzz look is my favourite... then Mangal Pandey; both are extreme looks, one is traditional with long hair, the other ultra-modern, very funky.” Anything he didn’t care about right now? “Yes,” he replied, “the butterflies in my stomach.”